It takes living in a foreign country for a while to realize how very true that is. The American rebellion over face masks is unique in the world, and something to be proud of. The rebellious nature of a real American is beyond cultural: it's genetic. America is a nation founded by rebels. 23andMe should detect it and highlight its presence in their results report.
There are two kinds of countries in the world: those that have walked on the moon, and those that have not.
People who didn't understand or appreciate the notion of, "American exceptionalism," are about to do so by virtue of its disappearance. Like the air we breath, it's something few give much thought to until they suddenly find it gone.
Many people, including a good number on our side, view the lurch towards tyranny as some strange, unprecedented, incomprehensible abandonment of freedom. It is in fact, a return to the baseline standard of human history from which we enjoyed a brief 200 year respite.